Nazem Kadri has been suspended for the remainder of the first round by NHL player safety. This is his second consecutive post season suspension both retaliating against violent and disgusting acts committed by the Boston Bruins.
I hate to see this. Game two occurred Saturday night and to say the least, things got ugly. A litany of missed calls, most of which were committed by the Bruins, lead to Nazem Kadri taking things into his own hands. After Jake DeBrusk threw one of the most blatant knee on knees in recent memory, almost ending Naz's career, we were forced to witness the ugly. The refs had their whistles put away for the entire game and can be directly to blame for what occurred next. Naz is a player who plays with integrity and passion and it's sad to see him become the victim of a biased league office.
Following this despicable knee on knee, Naz scored a beautiful tip in to bring the game within two. What happened next was disgusting. DeBrusk, who i can only compare to Matt Cooke, tried to run 20 year veteran Patrick Marleau into the stanchion and yet again the whistle was not blown. Irate at the apparent disregard for player safety, Naz decided to make this an eye for an eye.
Yes it was ugly, yes it wasn't a clean hit. But what else could he do? Continue to let the Bruins put his teammates at risk of potential career ending injuries? No, he did what any good teammate would do and buried that rat head first into the enterprise rent-a-car sign. Unfortunately, there was no stretcher to pick him up. As Sean Avery said, the only thing wrong was that DeBrusk wasn't missing his front row of teeth.
Naz was given a five minute major and commentators were quick to say he deserved a ten game suspension. Might I add that Brad Marchand received a $5000 fine for a very similar cross check last season.
This suspension is not only egregious, but is sad for the sport of hockey. I can only pray the refs do their due diligence in protecting players in the future. On another note, Torey Krug, who has a history of concussions was completely bodied with no helmet into the boards. He had trouble walking on his own, reminding me of a similar hit thrown on Sami Kapanen in 2004. Krug is playing tonight, in what i can only surmise as a lack of respect for the long term mental health issues.
So now I ask, what is going on with the NHL. Kadri's hit last year was worse, and for the most part unprovoked. 3 games. NHL poster boy Kucherov tried to kill Nutivaara and was only given one game. (probably because they are scared of the lightning getting swept.) Nazem Kadri has fallen the victim of a broken system. You either let the kids play or you don't, and on Satuday night everyone except Naz was allowed to play.
Being suspended for the rest of the series is ridiculous. DeBrusk knew exactly what he was doing. Lie down like a wounded animal and then jump up when Naz gets carted off the ice and receives the major penalty. The Bruins claim he was hurt, but surprise surprise he's ready for game 3. Does the NHL not want DeBrusk to pay for his crimes? Do they want to make an example of Naz? I don't know but hopefully we don't see something like this again.
